In Control
by SeahorseRider
Summary: Prophecies may have been written but the future isn't set in stone. Raven and her friends have proved that once before, will they be able to defy fate a second time?
1. The Message

The thud of a door closing echoed through the dark room followed by an ominous creak of footsteps on a wooden floor. A flip of a switch brought a small buzz as the solitary light bulb in a shade less lamp flickered to life and sending several cockroaches scurrying for the shadows.

The room was little more than a hole, peeling wall paper and boarded up windows were the only wall decorations to be had. To one side of the room half of a door hung haphazardly from the remaining hing, beyond it lay broken titles and toilet that was now nothing more than the grave of an unfortunate rat. There was no kitchen. Only a dusty rectangular table with a two small black boxes were there, one on each end.

This would not have been his first choice in locations. The feeling deepened when every step towards the table left a footprint in the grime on the floor. Never before had Red X been this thankful for the gas mask built into his skull-like hood than right now. He could just imagine how... unique this place must smell.

"Thanking you for meeting me." Red X looked back towards the door but it was still closed. Not a person in sight. Surveying the room, he found no trace of the origin of the voice. Until it spoke again. "I have some business I want to discuss with you." Now X's eyes settled on the closer of the two black boxes. It was a radio, or a transmitter, he wasn't sure which but the voice was definitely coming from that.

"I usually prefer to meet in more... sanitary locations." X responded not trying to hide the disgust in his voice.

"I have a job for you." The voice continued as if he hadn't heard the thief's remark. Though for all X knew at the moment it could be nothing more than a recording. "The last person I hired for this failed miserably. As did the ones before him. I hope you will be able to change that."

Red X crossed his arms, waiting for the box to continue while at the same time debating whether or not to just leave.

"If you succeed, you will receive three times the amount of money that is in the box on the table. If you fail, you can use the advance to pay for a lawyer. Think of it as a consolation prize." X made his way towards the other box, this one was larger and had a small flip on it. He picked it up and opened it, behind the mask his eyes widened. Inside were two untraceable bearer bonds, totaling one million.

"That's right. Complete this successfully and you will receive another six of those." X smirked, he could do a lot of damage with four million dollars.

"And just what is this job?" X asked the box, he was pretty sure at this point it was only a recording.

"I want you to deliver a message." Well that proved that assumption wrong...

* * *

Cyborg was almost down for the count. Beast Boy swung a powered up punch his way, narrowly missing the robot as he launched into the air. In retaliation Cyborg made a quick move to land a flying kick on his partner but Beast Boy countered, catching him in the air. Everything was set for him to perform a coup de grace, ending it once and for all. Unfortunately, the green titan's victory was interrupted at the last moment as the screen flashed red and an alarm blared.

"I totally had you!" Beast Boy exclaimed, throwing the controller on the ground. Cyborg sighed, his friend was right. But he certainly wasn't going to admit it.

"What's the trouble?" Their team leader asked exiting the elevator, wiping sweat from his brow with a towel.

"Cyborg was just about to get his butt kicked!" The changeling whined.

The mechanical titan threw his controller at Beast Boy hitting him square in the head. "Not sure Robin." He loaded up the report sent over by Jump City's police department.

"Nightwing" the leader coughed. He had abandoned his Robin persona years ago. Swapping the brightly colored suit from a more somber blue and black one. His once round mask now gave a small resemblance to the bat symbol, while his hair had been cut into shorter spikes. Less hair gel.

"Sorry." Cyborg explained, "Old habits die hard."

Nightwing nodded in understanding, Robin had been his moniker for many years but now it belonged to another.

"What is the emergency?" Starfire flew in from the hallway as Nightwing watched the surveillance footage being live streamed to the tower. The alien girl had changed little since they had all met. Except she easily broke six feet. The only titan taller than her was Cyborg and not by much.

"Someone tripped the silent alarm at the museum they are building."

"They are building a new museum? I didn't know that!" Beast Boy had grown, but not by much, he was still shorter than everyone but not as scrawny as he once was.

"No surprise there." Raven deadpanned from behind the green changeling causing him to jump and morph into a ferret.

"Geez Rae!" Beast Boy said as he morphed back. "You can't sneak up on a man like that."

"Enough." Nightwing interrupted as the two titans began to bicker. "We have to go now. It's been four years since we've seen him and we are not letting him get away.

"Who is it?" Cyborg asked as they made their way towards the garage.

"Red X." As the titans left they could see the footage of the thief on the screen, lounging on a priceless medieval bench, casually tossing a ruby the size of a golf ball.

* * *

"This is sooo a trap." Beast Boy sighed as the titans amassed one room away from the intruder.

"For once I have to agree with Beast Boy." Raven watched the thief as he continued to lay on the bench. He was now trying to balance the ruby on his foot.

Nightwing pulled out a bat-a-rang while nodding. "We will have to be careful. Who knows what his plan is this time. Starfire, Raven you two go from above, the rest of us will surround him."

With a nod the two girls flew towards the ceiling, keeping to the shadows. Below them the boys spread out, taking their places around the room. The thief continued to play with the ruby in the center of the room, either unaware or uncaring of their presence.

Raven looked around, spying a rope tied around several large crates. "Azerath Metrion Zinthos." She whispered and the rope became engulfed in a black energy. As Nightwing gave her a nod she sent the rope flying as fast as she could at X.

Instead of wrapping tightly around the thief's body as intended the rope went straight through him. The image of Red X faltering slightly as the rope hit the back of the bench landing in a small pile where the thief should have been.

"It's a hologram!" Nightwing shouted as they looked around. "Cyborg find his heat signature!"

Cyborg didn't move. He stared off into the distance, eyes unfocused. "Cyborg?" Nightwing approached him as the blue light illuminating from his electronic parts flickered. The large man leaned forward before smashing into the freshly laid tile with a loud crash. On his back a large red X sat, he had been effectively shut down for the moment.

"Cyborg!" Starfire shouted as she flew to him.

"He'll be fine Star. He is just powered down." Nightwing reassured her as his eyes darted around the room. X was nowhere to be seen.

Above their heads Raven opened her mind, her eyes turned white as she tried to locate the thief.

"Anything Rae?" The sorceress didn't answer; she was still looking. The room they were in was empty and she was now stretching out further. There. She found it. Calm among her anxious teammates. Cold, calculating and a hint of enjoyment, and it was coming closer.

"To the right!" She shouted as Red X stepped into the room.

"Very good Sunshine." X clapped slowly and sarcastically as Nightwing lunged at him. In a moment the thief shot a grappling hook to the ceiling and in his ascent sent a large X toward's the titan. Nightwing's own momentum was against him now as he was slammed hard into the ground. Unable to move he was out. Two down, three to go.

As X neared the ceiling a green bird of prey flew towards him, sharp claws out and ready to rip him into shreds. Three small x's left the criminal's glove causing the green titan to swerve, right into the path of a fourth x. This one was large and gooey. Unable to fly Beast Boy plummeted towards the ground as he struggled against the goop.

Starfire flew after the falling titan as Raven summoned her energy around the rope bringing X up, snapping it. As the thief fell he quickly hit the middle button on his belt, disappearing before he could crash into the ground.

Below her Starfire had caught Beast Boy, who with the help of the goo, was now firmly stuck to her arms, chest and left side of her face. As the two titans struggled, their situation only became worse. Raven needed to help them but she couldn't let her guard down. There was no way X would have just left.

As Starfire finally freed herself from the sticky lump that was Beast Boy. She left the tangled titan to his own mess and flew towards Raven. Picking the remaining goo from her body. The three male titan's lay on the floor defeated below them. Cyborg unconscious, Nightwing pinned but still trying to strain his neck and shout orders, and Beast Boy... Well Beast Boy was desperately shifting into any animal he could think of but was just too covered in goo to escape.

Raven and Starfire placed their backs to each other, the alien's hands glowed green while the sorceress's hands glowed black. Except for their team mates' commotion below the room was still, once more Raven opened her mind and sent herself out in search of the criminal. Finding nothing she turned to Starfire and motioned for them to land.

"Where could he have gone?" Starfire asked as while approaching the pinned Nightwing.

"He is still here somewhere." The hero grumbled as Starfire leaned down to help get the X off of their leader.

"I can't sense him anymore." Raven shook her head as she stood over Beast Boy who had finally calmed down, resorting to whimpering in his human form. The girl really didn't want to touch him and that goo.

Starfire grabbed one corner of the X and pulled. When it didn't budge she took a breath and prepared to give it one huge yank. As the X slowly started peeling off the floor she was sent flying backwards as an X collided with her chest, the edges wrapping around her like a strait jacket. Her arms stuck stretched down in the same pulling motion. Her eyes glowed green with power as another X collided with the back of her legs knocking her to the floor with a thud. Dazed from her skull smashing into the tile she could only gasp as a glob of goo covered her eyes. Four down.

Raven threw bolts of magic in the directions the X's came from. Three very different directions in less than 20 seconds, and nothing landed home.

"Free me Raven!" Nightwing barked as Raven frantically searched for the thief. With a flick of her wrist and chant of her mantra the constraints holding him to the floor were shredded. "Where is he?!"

"I don't know." Raven shook her head trying to focus her magic. "I still can't sense him."

Nightwing pulled out his communicator as he ran towards Starfire. "Robin! Blue Beetle! We need yo-." He was cut off midsentence as a red X knocked the device from his hand before it exploded into tiny shrapnel. "Raven call…" he trailed off as turned to look at his teammate.

Raven was still standing where she had been but now she was bound and gagged in several giant red Xs with her eyes wide in shock. Behind her Red X leaned over her, wrapping his arms around her, whispering in her ear. The thief looked at Nightwing running full speed towards them and with a smirk disappeared, leaving a stunned Raven to fall to her knees. Unable, or unwilling, to comprehend what had just happened.

* * *

 **A/N: I do not own Teen Titans or any of their characters.**

 **The title image is from Teen Titans (2003) Issue 13 Pg. 8**


	2. No Rest for the Wicked

"You need to ask her."

"No."

"He didn't steal anything."

"We stopped him before he could."

"You can't be that stupid."

"Drop it Damian."

"Why won't you listen to me?!" Damian shouted as he threw a birdarang at the back of Nighwing's head. Without turning around or breaking his pace Nightwing deflected the object with his arm, letting it clatter to the floor of the hallway harmlessly. "Grayson!"

Nightwing stopped, turning toward the younger titan. "Listen Damian. You may feel as if you and Raven have some connection but I have known her a lot longer. So trust me when I tell you to leave it alone." He picked up the abandoned birdarang, and handed it back to angry teen. "Go run some training sessions with Blue Beetle and Wonder Girl. I don't want to see you near Raven."

Damian glared at his brother, the Nightwing he read about would never have let this go but Dick seemed to have gone soft in the last few years. With an exalted huff the new Robin grabbed the birdarang out of Nightwing's hand before turning on his heels and storming off.

Nightwing let out a sigh, while rubbing the back of his neck. That boy was a steaming pile of rage and arrogance. Bruce had hoped sometime with The Titans would help mellow him out but it had been ten months, and Damian showed little improvement. Raven was the only person he seemed to relate too, despite her being nineteen and him fifteen, but that still didn't spare her from his suspicions.

Deep down Nightwing wanted to confront Raven too, demand she tell him what X had said to her, but he knew from experience that was a bad idea. Not to mention he wanted to avoid another "team intervention" about his obsessive tendencies. For now, however, he was just going to lock himself in his lab once again. Review the security tape, again. And try to see if there was anything he had missed, again.

* * *

A low crackle was all that could be heard in the dark candle lit room. Even Raven's mantra had gone silent as she sat there, legs crossed on her bedroom floor. Five candles surrounded her but only one remained lit, just a small mound of wax with the tiniest flame trying to avoid being snuffed out. Her father's screaming had long silenced, only an occasional protest surfaced, almost a whisper, before she could shove him down once more.

 _You can't deny me much longer child._

She took a deep breath, the smoke that still hung in the air burned her lungs, bringing fresh tears to her already stinging eyes.

 _Hahaha! You heard what that foolish mortal said._

Another deep breath, more burning, more tears.

 _They are coming for me daughter._

Another breath and she buried him further down, deeper than she ever had before, deeper than she ever knew existed.

 _They are coming for you! Hahaha._

The laughter of the demon Trigon died out as she managed to stuff him into the smallest box in the furthest recess of her mind. Finally, for the first time since their fight with Red X there was silence. Silence in her mind. Still, Raven remained in her trance to ensure that her father was thoroughly suppressed. He hadn't been this unruly in years, and she was determined to make sure it would be many more before she heard his unwanted voice echoing through her mind again.

It was some time before Raven open her eyes to find her room in complete darkness, the final candle had lost its fight. She stood slowly, leaning on the edge of her bed for support as the blood begun to move through her legs once more. As she took a step forward she winced, the sharp tingly feeling was over powering and she fell backward onto her bed. How long had she been in here? Her stomach growled with immense pain and her lungs ached as she coughed.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos." She croaked while to her left the curtains parted and the window opened itself letting in much needed fresh air. It was the sweat smell of the ocean and Raven breathed it in greedily. The haze cleared out quickly leaving the pools of wax melted into the carpet as the only evidence of her long ritual. Carefully she stood again, her legs a little less jellified, and made her way to the bathroom.

Splashing cold water on her face she stared bleary eyed at her reflection. Her eyes were bloodshot while her breath was ragged. She looked like hell, she felt like hell, and she had the King of Hell locked away in her mind. Oh Azar she hoped her ritual worked.

Driven by thirst Raven stumbled from out of her bedroom towards the titan common room where she made a beeline towards her kettle. As the now full kettle simmered on the stove Raven reached into the stash of fresh fruit kept on the counter, pulling out a ripe red apple and quickly biting off a large chunck.

The common room had changed little over the years, other than technical upgrades it looked nearly the same. The kitchen table even sported left over dishes from the last meal enjoyed at it, or an earlier meal, in the tower one could never be quite sure just how old something was. It was not uncommon to find blue furry food in the refrigerator.

Bypassing the chance to stumble upon a new form of life Raven skipped the fridge, pouring herself a cup of tea before making her way to the couch. In between the discarded magazines and forsaken game controllers the sorceress found a spot to settle into, letting the cushions envelop her body. It wasn't long before only the core of her apple lay discarded on the cushion next to her. As Raven downed the last few drops of the tea she laid her head back into the sofa and closed her eyes, taking in the silence as she dozed off.

Outside the large windows the sun began to dip below the water's edge while the common room remain void of any life except for Raven. Her moment of peace had almost been interrupted with the new recruits, or as Beast Boy called them, the young-ins, had come back after a day touring Watch Tower. Damian had almost reached the couch before Cassie had dragged him off, quietly threatening him with severe bodily harm. Jamie on the other hand had swiftly grabbed a couple bottles of water before following them out. Raven never stirred.

A little while later Cyborg tiptoed around the room and soundless piled his arms full of various meats and dishes from the refrigerator before tiptoeing out. He was followed by Beast Boy less than ten minutes later, who crept in as a cat before sneaking out with a package of tofu dogs between his teeth. Just because he didn't want to disturb Raven didn't mean he was going to eat whatever barbequed animal Cyborg had planned.

Only when the smoke from Cyborg's grill plumed high up into the sky and the smell of sizzled burgers and steaks reached her did Raven stir. With a gravely cough Raven rubbed her temples, the pain in her head dulled by the juice of her apple and tea, but it had not disappeared. A deep growl resonated from the bottom of her stomach and she let out a groan before pulling her communicator from her coat.

The words _32 messages_ were displayed on the screen, most likely team summons and other monotonous news. Without going through them Raven hit the button _clear all_ and they disappeared leaving only the date and time flashing across the screen, _June 27_ _6:15pm._ She stowed the communicator in her pocket once more before walking towards the windows. On the island below she could see her team mates seated around a wooden table while another stood at a flaming grill. From this height she was unable to make out who was who but could count seven heads. Everyone who lived here was down there except for her, she let out a small smile. She would be welcome if she went down there, and Azar knows how much her stomach wanted her too.

"You're up." Raven hadn't even heard a door open but she did hear a light bulb shatter somewhere in the room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Raven relaxed and turned toward her leader, "It's okay," she said calmly. "I thought everyone was down there."

"Everyone is." Nightwing walked over towards her and he put a hand on her shoulder. "Except for you."

"And you," she added. Raven turned to look out the window again as her stomach let out a rumble. There were still seven people down there, someone must have brought a guest.

"How are you feeling?" Nightwing asked her.

"I'm alright." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nightwing raise an eyebrow while taking in her appearance. She probably looked like hell to him. Her hair was a mess from sleeping on the couch and she was still in uniform, from a battle four days ago, beneath the smell of ash and sulfur hung the stench of her sweat. "Really Dick I am." She said in an attempt to reassure him.

"You don't look alright." He looked at her with soft eyes and a slight frown. "Raven…"

"I'm fine. Really." She paused, "I just need a shower."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Dick cracked a smile as Raven rolled her eyes. "Should I let them know you are joining us?"

Raven looked at the scene below again before nodding. "Yea, I'll change and be out there in a bit."

"They'll be happy to hear that Rae… We've all been worried about you." Without another word Raven left the common room leaving Nightwing alone.

True to his word everyone was over joyed when Raven emerged from the tower doors clad in jeans and her wet hair sticking to her shoulders. She suspected Richard had said more to the team as no one questioned her absence or brought up the battle with Red X. Instead the conversations remained light hearted, consisting of hobbies and the latest Justice League gossip.

Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, everyone that is except for Damian, but that was nothing new. In the entire time Damian had been on the team there had only been two times when the boy had let his guard down. Once when Raven had first met him, it was a training session and he had pushed Blue Beetle too far, causing the other boy to nearly kill him. Raven had healed him, at great expense to her own well-being but it saved his life. The other time was a few months after that, a package had arrived for him and inside contained a photo of him and his late grandfather.

Raven picked a pickle slice from her plate and popped it in her mouth, as she ignored the glare Damian was giving her. She could feel his emotions bubbling inside him, frustration, contempt and sadness. They hung in the air around him like an invisible sludge. Raven turned her attention to Cyborg's on-again off-again girlfriend, Bumblebee. Karen led the Titans East but tonight she stood by the metal man trying to get his opinion on new upgrades she wanted for her headquarters.

Damian coughed and Raven turned in time to see a pickle slice bounce off his head and him turn a pair of angry eyes toward Nightwing who glared at him right back. The incident was lost to everyone else but Raven could figure out exactly what was going on between the two. Those two were a lot more alike than they liked to admit, and they both wanted answers. Richard had just learned a little more discretion over the years and knew the time was not right. As Red X's words rattled across her mind she knew she would have to talk with Dick about it soon. Tonight was not that night though, it had been a long week and she excused herself from the table as a ghostly laugh echoed inside her head.

* * *

 **A/N: I must say I reread the first review I got several times. It felt great to have such appreciation. I hope this chapter is just as good to you guys.**

 **For where I am drawing the members I started with the original Titans cartoon and added Damian and Blue Beetle after watching "Justice League vs. Teen Titans". It doesn't use that movie as the history, I just liked Blue Beetle and Damian so I wanted to include them. Cassie is Wonder Girl, her inclusion is based off the Teen Titans 2003 comic series. I wanted a little variety and some fresh blood now that the original five are no longer actually teens.**

 **R &R?**


	3. Remember to breathe

A whisper here.

A laugh there.

Even in the deepest pit of her mind, in the tightest box, buried under everything she had he was still there, and he wouldn't let her forget it.

The ritual had been a failure. He was no longer screaming. No longer pounding. Still, he was there. When a moment of peace reached her, he would strike. And she wasn't sure how much more she could take.

Raven sat at her desk, tapping her pen against her head, the mission report in front of her blank. She had promised Richard it would be in front of him hours ago and as her communicator went off for the third time in the last half hour she groaned. Really she had to give him credit. It wasn't until the day after she finally emerged from her room did he question her about the incident. He had even agreed to her taking a few days to write up her report. Now his patience was up, and all she had was a blank piece of paper.

 _Child._

Raven ignored the petulant voice that continued to plague her. The ritual hadn't been a complete failure. Trigon was now just a barely audible voice echoing around in her head. Though at times she wasn't sure if it was really him out of his box or just a memory of one of the things he said before she shut him away.

With a sigh Raven dropped the pen on her desk and reached for her cup of tea. As she brought it to her lips she was met with disappointment as a lone drop slid into her mouth. Without a word she walked over to her dresser where a teapot sat and began to pour. The bottom of the cup was just barely covered in liquid before the spout ran dry. If she wanted more she would have to go to the kitchen. Did she dare try? Surely Dick would somehow sense she had left her room. He was annoying that way.

Her communicator went off again. She couldn't keep ignoring it, she knew that. Reluctantly she pulled the small device from her cloak. Sure enough she was right. Across the screen flashed seven messages, all received in the last hour. Five were from Nightwing. She opened the most recent one, it was short, simply asking her to come down. She pressed delete.

With another groan she dropped the communicator on her desk and let her face fall into her hands. As she sat there her communicator went off, again. She glared at the new message. It wasn't Dick. Instead she saw Starfire's name so she opened it.

 _Please friend Raven. Would you not join us in celebration?_

Raven raised an eyebrow, unsure what the alien was referring too. She thought back to the last few days, no one had mentioned any events coming up. In the few times she had left her room Cassie had approached her once with an invitation to join her and Starfire at the movies. Beast Boy wanted her to referee a game of Stank Ball with Cyborg. She hadn't even seen Jamie or Damian. Dick however had appeared every time requesting an update on her report.

Raven took a moment to listen for any sounds that might be coming from elsewhere in the tower. She could hear faint music, that wasn't unusual. The TV was definitely on, probably a video game. A low drone that often indicated her team mates talking was evident as well. Sounded like your average evening in Titan's Tower.

Unable to think of any reason for a celebration Raven flipped through the messages she had previously ignored. In the third message from Dick she found her answer.

 _If you are avoiding the party because of me I promise I won't bring up your report until tomorrow. Just don't hurt Beast Boy because of me._

Beast Boy, and that was when it dawned on her. They were celebrating Garfield's 18th birthday tonight. She could kick herself, she should kick herself. Raven had been so caught up in herself this past week that she had totally forgotten about Garfield. He had gone out of his way to make sure she enjoyed her birthdays for the last three years and yet she had totally forgotten about his. Without another thought she typed, 'On my way', into her communicator before disappearing in a curtain of black magic.

* * *

"You sure you want to do this now?" Tim Drake stood behind his brother as the elevator of Titan's Tower dropped lower and lower. "Wouldn't you rather be at the party?"

Dick shook his head. "You said you had an answer for me. They won't miss us for a little bit anyways." The elevator let out a ding as they reached their floor and the doors slid open to reveal a small hallway.

"Alright if you're sure." The younger brother added as he hesitantly followed his predecessor down the hallway towards the only door. As they reached the door Richard pulled off his glove and placed his palm on the scanner.

"Nightwing…. Access Granted." Came the mechanical voice and the door slid open. The young superheroes headed toward the main terminal in the back, weaving their way between table after table of advanced forensic technology. Tim let out a low whistle, this set up almost beat his own. Almost.

As they reached the main hub Dick motioned for Tim to take a seat in front of the wall of monitors. As the computer whirred to life Tim inserted his thumb drive and began typing furiously. Soon surveillance video from the museum began playing on a monitor to the left; on the right old footage of the lab robbery began to roll.

"After comparing the videos I can safely say it is the same person you fought years ago." Tim began as Dick leaned on the back of the chair watching intently. He had already figured that much out but he let Tim continue. "However I don't think this person is still Red X."

"What do you mean?" Dick questioned.

Tim pointed to the monitor of the computer heist and froze the image. "There. You can see that the mask is the same but the Kevlar suit isn't. This guy has aged but he never updated his suit. The material is a generic body armor and the blacks don't quit match. It looks like he kept the mask and belt but the original suit was replaced, and they didn't put the extra effort in they would have if they were still maintaining this identity."

Dick didn't say anything so Tim continued, pointing to a new screen shot. "When he jumps here you can see that the mask doesn't stretch as it used to. Another sign that it doesn't get used much. Some of this guy's flesh can be seen for a split second. It is the same guy behind the mask, but he isn't Red X anymore."

"That explains why we haven't seen him in years." Dick spoke more to himself than his brother. No matter how many times he reviewed the footage he hadn't noticed any of these small pieces. Even if it pained him to admit, Tim had always been the better detective. "Did you have any luck with the audio?"

Tim nodded, "I did. I was able to isolate the section record on Raven's communicator. It just barely picked up what he said but I was able to clear it up."

"Play it." Dick instructed.

"Are you sure? If Raven wanted to-"

"I said play it." Dick interrupted. Tim shrugged and hit the play button. Red X's mechanical voice crackled through the speakers, it was low and a little garbled but Nightwing was still able to understand the words.

As the recording finished Tim continued, "I was able remove the effects of the voice modul…" The younger brother turned around but Dick was gone. Annoyed he rolled his eyes and muttered the rest under his breath as he shut down the computer. "So I have a pretty good idea of who he is."

* * *

The party was in full swing when Raven stepped out of the hallway and into the common room. Dozens of people were gathered around the TV as Garfield battled it out with a man she didn't recognize. Everyone was out of costume, mingling among each other and laughing as if it was just another teenagers party. All of the kitchen counters held bowls and platters filled with a variety of different colored foods, empty pizza boxes lay discarded near the trash can while a towering cake wobbled dangerously on the kitchen table.

Raven looked through the faces of heroes before settling on Jericho, the mute was nestled in the corner smiling as he watched the battle on the screen rage. As the sorceress approached him he waved at her and made room for her to sit next to him. Together they sat in silence, watching the party-goers duel, dance and talk to one another. Occasionally one would approach the two and Raven would translate Jericho's signing if need be.

From the couch Beast Boy let out a shout of victory as yet another loser sauntered off to lick their virtual wounds. This time Kid Flash grabbed the challenger's remote and signaled to Garfield that he was going down. As the two teens readied themselves the words "Ready, Fight!" blasted from the speakers and they were off, mashing buttons on their respective controllers as the avatars on screen dealt punches and kicks to one another.

Even though parties were really not her thing Raven couldn't help but smile. It felt good to be surrounded by friends. The noise wasn't getting to her either, even if her father had tried to pester her she wouldn't have been able to hear his attempt.

Raven was nudged out of her thoughts by Jericho and he pointed toward the elevator door as Tim exited and walked over to Dick. She hadn't noticed her leader sitting there before but he was staring at her intently. So much for him not bugging her about the report. Just before Tim reached the annoyed looking titan he spotted the newest Robin making his way over to Dick as well. With a scowl Tim turned stopped abruptly and headed the other way. Next to her Jericho asked what that was about with his hands.

Raven leaned over, speaking softly into the other's ear. "Tim had to relinquish the title of Robin to Damian a year ago. He maybe Red Robin now but he is still sore about it."

Jericho mouthed an 'Oh' of understanding and returned his attention back to the competition in front of him. As Wally hung his head in defeat Jericho stood up and waved, getting Garfield's attention that he was to be the next challenger. From across the room Richard silently motioned for Raven to come join him.

With great hesitance Raven made her way across the room toward their leader. As she neared him he ushered Damian away before motioning her to sit next to him. It was a few minutes before he spoke.

"I'm glad you decided to come. Beast Boy would have been crushed." Dick's voice was steady. Raven nodded, waiting for him to continue. "How are you doing?"

Raven raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm fine."

He nodded. "Good to hear." He didn't look at her. "I was worried…" a pause followed as if he was thinking of what to say but after several seconds he still hadn't continued.

"I over-reacted." Raven looked at her lap, pulling at the edge of her sweater. "It was nothing really." She said with a half-hearted smile. In the back of her mind a laugh rung out over the noise of the party and Richard tensed up.

"Raven…" this time he finally turned to her, his blue eyes looked conflicted. "I need you to be able to trust the team. I need you to be able to trust me."

Raven attempted to swallow the lump in her throat but it refused to budge. She forced a smile, "Dick…"

"Rest up tonight." He said cutting her off. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day. And you're going to be the victim." With the last words he patted her on the knee as she stuttered out half formed protests while over at the TV Jericho jumped in silent joy, the green titan dethroned.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Are my chapters too short? Too rushed? Or do they flow okay?**

 **Next chapter is giving me problems. Last of the bat boys show up and I'm struggling with the family relationships and interactions.**


	4. Explain Yourself

If looks could kill Nightwing would be dead. Fortunately for him they couldn't. Instead he leaned against the wall, watching, as an annoyed Raven pulled at the ropes tying her to the chair. The last time she was in this position she was allowed free reign of her prison. Now their leader was taking out some unreleased anger on her under the guise of a more realistic scenario.

"This is a little overkill." Raven spoke in a monotone. He didn't respond. The room was stifling hot and her hair was growing damp from sweat. "I can't even meditate like this."

"You're a prisoner Rae." He spoke as if she were a child. "You aren't supposed to be comfortable."

"Am I being punished for something?" She asked as she blew a strand of damp hair away from her face.

"Why would you think that?" he asked almost as if he was daring her to bring it up.

"I guess I'm just special to get tied up then." She deadpanned.

Nightwing rolled his eyes behind his mask but it was still evident and he pulled out his communicator. "Cyborg any report?"

The little yellow disk crackled to life and Cyborgs voice echoed out. "Nah man. Those kids haven't even gotten past BB yet. He has them running around pretty much playing whack-a-mole."

Nightwing sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Keep me updated."

"Will do." Was the response before he shoved the communicator back in his pocket with an irritated sigh.

"Not performing up to your expectations?" Raven smirked at him. At least she could have a little fun with him. "You know if this was real, this wouldn't hold me."

"You're not the one being tested." He turned from her, walking over to the small folding table he had set up on the other side of the room.

"Then why tie me up?" She glared at his back but he didn't respond. The simple ropes were just that, ropes. There were no incantations, no charms, nothing that would actually keep her stuck. Just normal ropes in a normal knot to restrain a normal citizen. And she was forced to play along.

Nightwing didn't respond, instead he was pulling up various reports on the scenario he had set up. None of the traps near the cavern they were in had been tripped yet. Richard always wanted these scenarios to be somewhat realistic so he only had tabs on his team and not the younger titans facing them. Behind him Raven rolled her eyes. Last time it was her turn to play the victim she had passed the time reading a book, this time Dick seemed to be going out of his way to be, well a dick.

"Dick." No response. "Dick." Raven repeated but there was still no response. "Nightwing!" Finally, her leader turned around.

"What?" He asked not trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"I am all for helping train the kids. I really am." Raven continued from her chair. "But you are being a royal pain. Even more than usual. This can't just be about making it more realistic. I know you are mad at me." Richard stared her down but didn't respond. She sighed, turning her eyes towards the ground, "I'm working on the report. It is just hard since…"

"You over-reacted?" he finished her sentence for her and she nodded. "Raven listen to me." Nightwing walked over toward his faux captive and knelt down to look her in the face, removing his mask in the process. "I know you. What X said freaked you out, and you are not one who normally over-reacts. Except with horror movies." He added with a smirk causing Raven to roll her eyes. "I trust you with my life and it hurts that you don't trust me."

Now Raven felt like shit. Or what shit felt like when it felt worse than shit. There really was no description for how deep his words had just cut. "Dick…" Raven began but she was interrupted by the communicator in Nightwing's pocket coming to life.

"Nightwing! Something is wrong!" Starfire's voice on the other end sounded panicked.

In a moment Dick held his communicator in his hand, "Titans report! What's going on?"

"I got my butt kicked by a black and red blur man." The voice was Beast Boy.

"Starfire? Report!" Nightwing shouted.

"I am the okay." Starfire's voice came through the communicator the panic was gone, she sounded almost giddy but didn't say anything more.

Nightwing scowled and turned toward Raven only to find her chair empty. He was alone.

* * *

The glare blinded Raven for a moment before her eyes readjusted. With a few blinks she could make out her friend Starfire, the alien looked overjoyed. It took a split second before Raven realized she was being held tight in another person's arms. Looks like one of the young titans had been successful in 'rescuing' her.

"I didn't take you for the damsel in distress type Sunshine." The arms released her and she turned confused to look at the victor. It wasn't one of the titans. Instead a large man towered over her, he wore simple black Kevlar suit with a large red bat symbol across the chest, his face hidden behind a red motorcycle like hood.

"Oh Jason I have missed you!" Starfire flew at the young man, throwing her arms around him in a life crushing hug.

In a simple move of black magic Raven freed herself from the unthreatening restraints and they fell to the ground in a puff of dust. "This is the guy you ran off with Star?" Raven questioned.

"Oh Raven yes I did the travels with him after Dick had left us." Starfire released the man from her death grip but continued to float around them. "Him, Roy and I had many wonderful adventures together." Starfire continued, detailing the intergalactic battles and criminal bad guys the trio encountered but Raven was no longer listening. The stories were of little interest compared to what she heard coming up behind her. At a full sprint Nightwing was fast approaching, still in a battle mindset.

"Jason?" Nightwing looked on in disbelief as he skidded to a stop. Then a smile broke out on his face, "What are you doing here?" he said as he embraced his brother in a hug.

"Tim called me." Jason said as he returned the hug. "He said Damian was being more of a problem than normal and asked if I could stop by." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "So here I am. Though I couldn't resist interrupting when I saw everyone doing the training mission." A playful smile spread across his face.

Dick shot Raven a look before continuing his conversation with his family. Her mind ventured back towards the words that had been shared in the cave only moments before. It wasn't that she didn't trust her leader, things were just a little… complicated. However, there was something that was tugging at Raven, something oddly familiar about the somewhat estranged Batfamily member standing before her. They had met once before sure, Jason had been a titan once. Though he had only been a member for two weeks before his unfortunate demise at the hands of The Joker.

In truth she had never met up with Jason after his return, Starfire had however and the alien had spent a lot of time telling Raven about that adventure and her relationship with Roy. Dick and Starfire had since rekindled their relationship but the question had never been answered. Did Dick know about her time with the former Speedy?

"Raven?" With a start the young sorceress was pulled out of her own thoughts and found the group of heroes looking at her. Cyborg had joined them while she had been zoning out. "Raven?" Dick repeated.

"Yes?" Raven deadpanned, not wanting to betray any feeling she had. Inside her head she could hear the ghost of her father whispering something unintelligible.

"You remember Jason right?" he asked while gesturing to his brother. "He was Robin after I became Nightwing."

Raven nodded. "I remember. Things didn't…" she trailed off, no one really wanted to go into that unfortunate detail.

"Well it's good to see you again man!" Cyborg hit Jason on the back of the shoulder a little harder than he intended causing the young man to stumble forward. "Sorry, I forget my own strength sometimes. Anyways let's call it a day and get back to the tower. I'm hungry!"

With a nod they began the trek back along the course Nightwing had designed. Near the beginning they found Blue Beetle, Robin and Wonder Girl tied up and unconscious along with a very confused Beast Boy. After a little bit of smelling salts and a lot of explaining the group was climbing into the T-Car, minus the ones who were able to fly.

Raven held back from the group, she needed a break from the mix of emotions billowing off her teammates. What she wanted was a moment to figure out what the feeling was that was itching at her insides. There was something, not wrong necessarily, but something that put her on edge around Jason. Just as she was nearing the tower she realized what it was, and it hit her as if she had suddenly fallen out of the sky, which she also happened to do at that moment.

* * *

After a few parting words from Dick, Jason was left alone in one of the many spare rooms of the tower. It was one of many identical rooms set aside for either visiting heroes or new recruits, empty except for a bed and dresser. As the young man tossed his duffle bag onto the bed the door behind him swung open.

"Why are you here?" Raven asked as she glared at him. Behind her the door shut itself with black magic, followed by a click of the lock.

Jason let out a sigh as he collapsed on the bed with a smirk. "Don't want us disturbed Sunshine?"

"Why are you here?" Raven asked again as she approached him, her hands glowing with the same black magic. She could sense the amusement coming off him as he patted the space on the bed next to him. She merely continued to glare at the man, as if she would be able to see into his soul and find the answer she wanted. Jason on the other hand was little more than a wall, the only thing she could get off him was what he wanted her to sense.

Their staring contest was interrupted by Raven's communicator going off.

"You going to get that?" Jason pointed out after Raven hadn't moved. Silently she pulled out the small yellow device, clicked a button silencing the noise and shoved it back in her cloak, all without taking her eyes off her target.

"I want answers, Jason."

"What do you want to know?" he asked innocently enough.

"Why are you here?" she repeated, annoyance and frustration following every word.

"As I told Dick…"

"No." Raven cut him off. "I want the truth."

Jason smiled. "But doll face what makes you think that isn't the truth?"

Raven's glare intensified as she repeated the words he had spoken to her only a week ago. "Blood is thicker than water, birthday girl."

"Ahh." Jason leaned back against the blanket and stared at the ceiling. "You're smarter than I thought you were. How'd you figure it out?"

"Don't change the subject." Raven threatened, she now stood just at his knees staring down at him doing her best to intimidate him. From the little she could read from the arrogant man in front of her she guessed she was failing at it.

"Ah ah Sunshine." He wagged his finger at her as if he was scolding a child. "It is very much on the subject, and a fact I am very interested in knowing. Tell you what," he said as he sat up with a grin on his face. "You answer my questions I'll answer yours."

"How about," Raven leaned in close to his face, "you answer my questions and I don't banish you to another dimension."

"Good luck with that Princess, my time with the All-Caste will make that a little hard for you."

Raven blinked in surprise and backed up a foot as the magic faded from her hands. He was part of the All-Caste? How? Never mind, she couldn't get distracted by that right now.

Jason could see he had flustered the dark sorceress and laughed. "So how bout it? How'd you know it was me?"

"Your… Your…" Raven stuttered as she tried to compose herself but failed causing Jason to laugh even more. Raven cleared her throat silencing the young man in front of her. She stared at him with renewed vigor. "Your aura gave you away."

"My aura huh?" he smirked, "Does Dick know you can identify people by their auras? I'm sure that would make hunting down criminals a lot easier."

Raven shook her head, "It doesn't work that way."

"Then how does it work?"

"That's none of your business." She countered. "What are you doing here? Why did you give me that message?"

Ah ah ahhh." Jason cut her off. "One question at a time."

"You got two, now answer mine. I need to know why it is you gave me that message. Who sent you here? How are you involved? Why…"

"Patience, Sunshine." He patted the bed next to him again. "Take a seat." Jason showed no sign of continuing so she reluctantly sat herself on the bed, maintaining distance between them. "I delivered that message because someone paid me too. Plain and simple."

"That's it?" she eyed him suspiciously

"That's it."

"Someone just walked up to the vigilante Red Hood and asked him to deliver a message like a common sing-a-gram and you followed willy-nilly without a question? And you expect me to believe that?"

"Well you can crack a joke."

"Sarcasm at your obvious stupidity is not a joke." She deadpanned.

"That hurts sunshine." Jason feigned a pain in his chest. "But no. They didn't waltz up to me. I received a message about a job involving my favorite brother and I just couldn't pass it up."

"And you decided to do it as Red X?" she asked accusingly.

"The job was for Red X," he said matter-of-factly, "not Red Hood. Even though I retired that identity years ago my reputation continued and someone called on me."

"Who?" How this guy could so be calm was beginning to grate on Raven's nerves. If she had subjected Garfield to this kind of interrogation he would have forfeited to hide under his bed with his bunny slippers long ago, even Dick would reek of unease by this point, but Jason was different. He was calm with a touch of amusement, and his continued smile bugged her.

"I believe you already asked your two questions, mine turn."

Raven frowned but he showed no sign of giving in, finally she let out a sigh. "Fine. Ask your question."

"Does this have something to do with your father?"

Raven stared at him completely astonished, "How… How do you know about him?"

"Zatanna." Jason's smile disappeared "He wasn't killed last time was he?"

Still in shock Raven shook her head, half answering his question and half protesting it. "I… I didn't ask a question…"

"You asked how I knew about him. That was a question, and I answered it. Therefore, it was my turn to ask a question." If he had taken her head shake as an answer she wasn't aware of it. Raven's mind had fogged over while a distant voice was growing louder, individually the words were clear but she was unable to string them together to form a coherent sentence. As soon as the next word was uttered she had forgotten the first word, keeping her from understanding the screaming.

"Raven." Jason's voice was louder than the phantom in her head and shook her back to the bare room they sat in. "Are you okay?"

Without noticing it a tear had escaped her and fallen down her face and for the first time Jason wasn't smiling. Instead he sat there looking at her with a small frown that mirrored Dick's face of concern in many ways while maintaining its own look of underlying suspicion. Raven hadn't noticed it the entire time she sat here with him, her sudden lack of composure must have thrown Jason off and she finally whiffed something he had been hiding from her the entire time. He was suspicious of her. She was an enemy.

Just as quick as she sensed it Jason had his walls back up. The feeling was gone, replaced with the calm amusement she had grown used to.

"I'm fine." She lied as she absentmindedly wiped the tear from her cheek and Jason didn't push it. She was thankful for that and let out a deep breath she hadn't been aware she was holding as the former Robin watched her. "I…" she stammered off, trying to remember what it was that they were talking about. Her father, that was part of it but that wasn't it. No it was him, Raven refocused her thoughts towards the man in front of her. "Why are you here?"

The smile didn't return to his face, "I was hired to deliver a message."

"No." Raven stopped him. "Not that time. Now. Why are you here now?"

"Tim…"

"No!" Raven cut him off and her eyes glowed red for a moment before she shut them. When she reopened them they were back to their normal lavender color. "The truth."

"This is the truth. Dick gave Tim the audio of our…" he paused slightly, "conversation. He made it audible and was able to figure out I was Red X."

"Dick heard it?" Raven asked more to herself than to Jason and the young man nodded. "Does he know what it means?"

This time Jason shook his head. "No, and neither does Tim."

"Do you?" she asked accusingly.

Jason shook his head once more. "No. We do have our suspicions thought."

"So you guys are talking about me? Deciding how much of a danger I am to you?" The anger had once again returned to her face for a moment before she was able to quell it.

"Dick doesn't know I'm involved. Tim trusts you fully, he is more suspicious of my involvement to be honest and Dick, he hasn't said anything since Tim told him."

"And why are you involved? It can't be a coincidence that he chose you."

"He? So you do know who sent it." Jason let a small smile slip. "According my ahem, employer, I wasn't the first hired but the only one to succeed. The rules were clear, get that message to you, and only you. No paper trail either so a simple letter was out of the option."

"No one has approached me…"

"I was the eighth person contacted."

"How do you…?"

"I never do a job without knowing the full details. If you don't know why your predecessors failed, you can't avoid the same mistakes. "

"So who were they then? No one has…"

"Mammoth," he began cutting her off. "Dr. Light, Adonis, Mad Mod, Mumbo, Control Freak…"

"Okay." Raven interrupted his list. "If so many people know this is hardly a secret message anymore, so why bother after all that? Why not just send me a letter?"

"Have you checked in on any of these criminals since you put them away last time?" Raven shook her head and Jason turned to pull a file out of his duffle bag before shoving it into her hands. "Scrambled like eggs. Everyone one of them." The file he handed her listed every villain he had named off including a few more. Shortly after being turned over to the police all the reports listed strange behavior before each one had gone comatose. They had all been reduced to a drooling mess.

"What about you?" she shoved the paper back into his lap and shut her eyes trying to erase the images from her mind.

"I succeeded." Jason stated.

"Hardly." Raven scoffed. "If I was the only one who was supposed to know you failed. Both Tim and Dick know what the message is. If this sender wanted to keep it such a secret, you should be lying on the floor in a puddle of drool."

"True Sunshine." He said as he reached in into his duffle bag once more retrieving a small black box. "It was pure luck that I found this." Jason opened the box and showed her a clear piece of glass, a microscope slide, and whatever it held was too small for her to see. "It's a small chip, I think it was on the payment. My suit caught it before it could infect me."

Raven didn't know what to think anymore. Questions flooded her mind as she sat there and every time she thought she had an answer it just gave her more questions. She needed to get away, away from the city, away from the tower and away from this infuriating man who had barged into her life and her business. It was all too much.

Without a thought Raven rushed towards the door but as her hand closed around the handle her vision left her. The floor dropped away beneath her feet and her hand slipped through the air to nothing. She hung there in suspended reality for a moment as her blood rushed through her body. A soft scratchy presence was under her arms and legs while dots of blue began plagued her vision. As the spots grew bigger and the darkness faded towards the edges of her vision she realized she was lying face down on the blue carpet.

A firm hand gripped her shoulder gently turning her on to her back before it helped her to a sitting position. Jason kneeled next to the shaken girl and cradled her in his arm.

"Can you stand?" he asked and Raven slowly nodded as he grabbed her around the waist hoisting her up. With her weight on her own feet again the titan wavered slightly causing Jason to lead her toward the bed before she fell again. With an ungraceful plop and a creak of the bed-spring Raven found herself seated on the bed she had just left with the man she had just tried to run from holding her in his arms.

If it weren't for the circumstances this would have reminded her of her short-lived relationship with Jericho, instead this reminded her more of her time with Malchior. A comforting touch from a terrible source. Raven attempted to banish the comparison from her mind as she pushed herself out of Jason's embrace. She had succeeded slightly as the young man was no longer holding her but an arm remained firmly around her shoulders as if he thought she was going to fall over again.

"Now." Jason spoke softly as Raven merely stared into space. "Shall we discuss why Slade is sending you secret messages?"

* * *

 **A/N: This story is bothering me. I feel as if I am rushing, so I included a downtime in the previous chapter. Now I sit here. I see what I have written and I am bothered but I don't know why.**

 **When Raven came to earth in the comics she went to the justice league for help but Zatanna sensed the demonic portion of her and convinced the League to turn her away. Jason's history pulls from several comics of him. If you aren't familiar with it that is fine as anything that would require knowledge will be explained in story and has no relevance anyways.**


End file.
